Recording medium, and method and apparatus of recording and reproducing data on the same

ABSTRACT

An apparatus of recording data on a recording medium includes a pickup unit and a microcomputer. The pickup unit records data in a plurality of data frames included in a cluster. The microcomputer controls the pickup unit to record status information within the cluster, which indicates a status of the data being recorded in each data frame. In addition, the microcomputer further controls the pickup unit to record previous location information within the cluster when the cluster is determined to be a replacement cluster. The previous location information indicates a previous location of an original cluster associated with the replacement cluster.

This application claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/609,260, filed on Sep. 14, 2004, in the name of inventor Yong Cheol PARK, entitled “DATA TYPES IN SRM”, and No. 60/610,222, filed on Sep. 16, 2004, in the name of inventor Yong Cheol PARK, entitled “DATA TYPES IN BD-R”, which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0087950, filed on Nov. 1, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a recording medium, and more particularly, to a recording medium, and a method and apparatus of recording and reproducing data on the same.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Recently, a new type of recording medium, such as a Blu-ray Disc RE-writable (BD-RE), that can record and store high definition audio and video data for a long period of time is expected to be developed and introduced to the recording medium industry and market. As shown in FIG. 1, the BD-RE is allocated with a lead-in area, a data zone, and a lead-out area. An inner spare area (ISA) and an outer spare area (OSA) are respectively allocated at a fore end and a rear end of the data zone. The BD-RE is recorded by cluster units corresponding to a predetermined recording unit. Referring to FIG. 1, whether or not a defect area exists within the data zone can be detected during the recording of the data. When a defect area is detected, a series of replacement recording operations is performed, such as replacement recording the data that is intended to be recorded in the defect area in a spare area (e.g., the inner spare area (ISA)). Then, a position information of the detected defect area and a position information of the replacement recorded spare area are recorded and stored in a defect list (DFL) within the lead-in area as management information.

Therefore, since the data that is intended to be recorded in the defect area is replacement recorded in the spare area, the data replacement recorded in the spare area is read and reproduced, instead of the data of the defect area, thereby preventing in advance a data recording/reproducing error from occurring. Meanwhile, the write-once blu-ray disc (BD-WO) has recently been under development. However, since data can only be recorded once in the entire area of the optical disc, unlike the re-writable optical disc, data cannot be physically overwritten in the write-once optical disc. Nevertheless, there may occur instances, in the write-once optical disc, where the recorded data is wished to be edited or partially modified, and, for simplicity of usage from the part of the host or the user, overwriting of the data may be required. Accordingly, an efficient method enabling such defect management to be overwritten is urgently required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a recording medium, and a method and apparatus of recording and reproducing data on the same that substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide an efficient method for recording and reproducing the recording medium.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for overwriting data within the recording medium and a method for managing a defect area.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium allowing the various methods described above to be performed.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a method of recording data on a recording medium includes recording data within a plurality of data frames included in a cluster, respectively, recording status information within the cluster for each data frame, the status information indicating a status of the data recorded in each data frame, and recording previous location information within the cluster when the cluster is determined to be a replacement cluster, the previous location information indicating a previous location of an original cluster associated with the replacement cluster.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of reproducing a cluster recorded on a recording medium, the cluster having a plurality of data frames, includes extracting status information from the cluster, the status information indicating a status of data recorded in each data frame, and reproducing the data recorded in each data frame based upon the extracted status information, wherein the status information indicates that the data recorded in each data frame represents any one of valid data, real-time data, padding data, and invalid data.

In another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus of recording data on a recording medium including a cluster having a plurality of data frames, includes a pickup unit for recording data in the data frames, respectively, and a microcomputer for controlling the pickup unit to record status information within the cluster, the status information indicating a status of the data being recorded in each data frame, wherein the microcomputer further controls the pickup unit to record previous location information within the cluster when the cluster is determined to be a replacement cluster, the previous location information indicating a previous location of an original cluster associated within the replacement cluster.

In another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus of reproducing a cluster recorded on a recording medium, the cluster having a plurality of data frames, includes a pickup unit for reproducing data recorded in the data frames, and a microcomputer for controlling the pickup unit to extract status information from the cluster and to reproduce data recorded in each data frame based upon the extracted status information, wherein the status information indicates that the data recorded in each data frame represents any one of valid data, real-time data, padding data, and invalid data.

In a further aspect of the present invention, a recording medium includes a plurality of clusters, each cluster including a first data area including a plurality of data frames, a second data area including status information for each data frame, the status information indicating a status of the data recorded in each data frame, and a third data area including previous location information when each cluster is determined to be a replacement cluster, the previous location information indicating a previous location of an original cluster associated with the replacement cluster.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a method for managing defects in a general re-writable optical disc;

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for managing defects in the write-once optical disc according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a logical overwriting method in a write-once optical disc according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a main field of the write-once optical disc according to the present invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a method for recording a flag bit and status information according to the present invention;

FIGS. 6A to 6D illustrate a method for recording data on the write-once optical disc according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a method for recording a data frame status bit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a method for recording data on the write-once optical disc according to the other embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an optical recording and reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. In addition, although the terms used in the present invention are selected from generally known and used terms, some of the terms mentioned in the description of the present invention have been selected by the applicant at his or her discretion, the detailed meanings of which are described in relevant parts of the description herein. Furthermore, it is required that the present invention is understood, not simply by the actual terms used but by the meaning of each term lying within.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for managing defects in the write-once optical disc according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the write-once high density optical disc is allocated with a lead-in area, a data zone, and a lead-out area. Additionally, the data zone includes an inner spare area (ISA), an outer spare area (OSA), and a user data area. Herein, the user data area is where the user data is actually recorded. Also, the lead-in area is used as an area for recording diverse management information for recording/reproducing data on/from the optical disc. Moreover, the lead-in area is provided with a temporary disc management area (TDMA), which is an area for recording defect management information and recording management information of the optical disc. The TDMA may be allocated with a separate Additional TDMA within a spare area for defects that may frequently occur during the use of the optical disc and for updating the recording management information.

A defective area may be detected while recording or reproducing data on or from the write-once optical disc having the above-described structure. At this point, the defect area also includes an area which is presently not a defective area but which is liable to be defective in the near future. The defective area may occur due to a contamination or a scratch on the surface of the optical disc. And, when such defective area occurs, the data that is to be or that is already recorded in the data area is replacement recorded on the spare area. After replacement recording data on the spare area, a position information of the defective area and the replacement area are recorded in the TDMA as a defect list (DFL) entry. Therefore, when reproducing the recorded data in a later process, an apparatus for reproducing the optical disc refers to the DFL entry information so as to reproduce the data recorded in the replacement area instead of the defective area, thereby ensuring security and reliability of the data.

As described in the method for managing defects in the write-once optical disc, when overwriting data on a data recorded area, the data that is intended to be recorded on a recorded area is replacement recorded on a recordable area within the user data area or on a spare area. FIG. 3 illustrates a logical overwriting method in a write-once optical disc according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, in the write-once optical disc, according to a request made by a host or an application, a new set of data may be sought to be recorded in the user data area, in which data is already recorded. However, due to the characteristics of the write-once optical disc, a physical overwriting of data cannot be performed on a pre-recorded area of the optical disc.

Therefore, in this case, a method for replacement recording data that is intended to be recorded in the pre-recorded area on the user data area or the spare area will be used. More specifically, instead of recording data on the pre-recorded area, which cannot be physically overwritten, data may be replacement recorded either on a next recordable user data area or on a spare area. This method will be referred to as Logical OverWriting (LOW) in order to be distinguished from physical overwriting of the rewritable optical disc. After performing the replacement recording, the replacement recorded position is recorded in the TDMA as an entry information. Therefore, when reproducing the data in a later process, reference is made to the entry information recorded in the TDMA in order to reproduce the replacement recorded data. Herein, the entry in which the position information of the logical overwriting area and the replacement area is referred to as a LOW entry.

When performing the logical overwriting or the defect management, as described above, the corresponding position information is recorded as an entry. However, apart from such method, information associated with the recording of the data may also be recorded in each cluster in sector units. Herein, data is recorded in each cluster. Such method will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 illustrates a main field of the write-once optical disc according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, in order to facilitate the recording or reproduction of the data on/from the optical disc, an address field (AF) is included in each cluster existing within the optical disc. The address field (AF) divides each of the clusters into 16 addresses. Each address includes a plurality of address units. Each address unit has the size of 1 byte, and one address field is recorded in the size of 9 address units (i.e., 9 bytes). Each of the address fields is divided into an area for recording address unit numbers (AF_(0,S) to AF_(3,S)) having the size of 4 bytes, an area for flag bits (AF_(4,S)), and an area for parity bits (AF_(5,S) to AF_(8,S)). The area for recording address unit numbers has the size of 4 bytes, and the area for the flag bits has the size of 1 byte. The area for the parity bits, which is for correcting errors, has the size of 4 bytes. At this point, the flag bit area (AF_(4,S)) includes the status of each data frame within the cluster and also includes the address information of a previous recorded area, when the corresponding area is a replacement area. This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. Herein, a cluster consists of 32 frames (herein, a frame is identical to a sector).

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a method for recording a flag bit and status information according to the present invention. FIG. 5A illustrates a structure of a flag bit AF_(4,S). Referring to FIG. 5A, one AF_(4,S) consists of 8 bits. Herein, bits b₇ to b₄ are areas in which the status of the corresponding frame is recorded. If bits b₁ and b₀ are replacement clusters, these bits are used as areas in which the address of a previous recorded area is recorded. More specifically, in the flag bit area which consists of the area from AF_(4,0) to AF_(4,15), the bits in which the address of the previous recorded area is recorded are from a₃₁ to a₀. A first physical sector number (PSN) of the previous recorded area is recorded in the above-described bits. At this point, if the corresponding cluster is not a replacement area, the bit is recorded as 0 bit. In addition, in the flag bit area AF_(4,0) to AF_(4,15), status bits in which the status of the corresponding frame is recorded consists of in the flag bit area which consists of the area from AF_(4,0) to AF_(4,15) and in the flag bit area which consists of Sa_(0,1) to Sa_(31,1) and Sa_(0,0) to Sa_(31,0). Herein, each Sa_(i,1) and Sa_(i,0) form a pair of 2 bits so as to represent the status information of a corresponding frame among a total of 32 frames. For example, the Sa_(0,1) and Sa_(0,0) pair indicates the status information of the 0^(th) frame of the corresponding cluster, and the Sa_(31,1) and Sa_(31,0) pair indicates the status information of the 31^(st) frame of the corresponding cluster.

FIG. 5B illustrates the status information. And, the method for recording the status information will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5B. Referring to FIG. 5B, when the status bits Sa_(i,1) and Sa_(i,0) are 00 b, this indicates that the corresponding frame is an original data. At this point, whether the address of the previous recorded area is recorded or not is not taken into account. This is because the data recorded in the replacement area may be the original data, if the data intended to be recorded in the defective area is replacement recorded in accordance with the method for managing defects.

When the status bit is 01 b, the data may be an updated version of the corresponding frame, when the status bit is 01 b, and the bit in which the address of the previous recorded area is not 0 b (i.e., when the address of the previous recorded area is recorded). The logical overwriting is taken into account in this case. In other words, in logical overwriting, a new set of data different from the previously recorded data is replacement recorded. Therefore, in order to distinguish the data from the replacement recorded original data performed for the defect management, the data is indicated as updated data.

Alternatively, when the status bit is 01 b, and when the bit in which the address of the previous recorded area is Ob, the corresponding cluster is not replacement recorded, and the status of the corresponding frame is real-time data (which is also referred to as “streaming data”). This is to distinguish the data from the general non-real time data. When the data is real-time data, replacement recording is generally not performed in order to provide seamless recording or reproduction of the data. Meanwhile, when the status bit is 10 b, this indicates that the corresponding frame is meaningless padding data. And, when the status bit is 11 b, this indicates that the corresponding frame in invalid data. As described above, by recording information on the status of data frame within the cluster and also the address of a previous recorded area, when the corresponding area is a replacement area, the original data or the updated data can be easily identified and search, even when the DFL entry or the LOW entry is absent or unknown. Examples will be given with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 6A to 6D illustrate a method for recording data on the write-once optical disc according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6A, when a recording (or writing) command for data A1 is transmitted to an area in which data A0 is recorded, in accordance with the request from an application or host, data A1 is replacement recorded in a next recordable area. Then, its position information is recorded in the TDMA as a LOW entry. At this point, the data is recorded in cluster units. Herein, FIG. 6A illustrates an example of data A0 and data A1 each having the size of one cluster and being non real-time data. In this case, since data A0 is the original data, 00 b bit is recorded as the status bit included in the flag bit within the cluster in which data A0 is recorded. Herein, as described above, 00 b indicates that the data in the original data.

In addition, the cluster in which data A1 is recorded is a replacement area. Therefore, a first PSN of the previous recorded area of data A0 is recorded in the flag bit. When the address of the previous recorded area is included and when a new data A1 is updated, the status bit is recorded as 01 b. Since it is assumed that data A1 has the size of one cluster, the bits indicating the status of all 32 frames within the cluster are all recorded as 01 b.

Alternatively, a recording (or writing) command for data A2 may be transmitted in accordance with the request from an application or host on the optical disc in which logical overwriting has been performed, as shown in FIG. 6B. In this example, the size of data A2 is smaller than one cluster, and the recording command is transmitted for a partial area of the cluster in which data A0 is recorded. Referring to FIG. 6B, when the recording command for data A2 is for a part of the area in which data A0 is recorded, the area in which data A0 is recorded is identified as the area in which A1 is recorded. Therefore, a portion of data A1 and the data A2 are replacement recorded on a next recordable area, and its position information is recorded as the LOW entry.

As described above, data is recorded in cluster units. Therefore, being smaller than one cluster unit, data A2 cannot be replacement recorded by itself. In this case, the first PSN of the cluster in which data A1 is recorded is recorded in the flag bit of the cluster in which the portion of data A1 and the data A2 are recorded. Also, bit 00 b is recorded as the status bit of the frame in which a portion of data A1 is recorded. Herein, 00 b indicates that the data is the original data. Furthermore, since the status bit includes the address of the previous recorded area and is updated, bit 01 b is recorded as the status bit of the frame in which data A2 is replacement recorded. Meanwhile, in this case, since the LOW entry performed in FIG. 6A becomes a set of meaningless information due to the replacement recording of data A2, the recorded LOW entry of FIG. 6A is deleted from the entry.

Accordingly, in the optical disc in which logical overwriting has been performed, a defect may occur in the cluster where the portion of data A1 and the data A2 are replacement recorded. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6C. Referring to FIG. 6C, when a defect occurs in the cluster where the portion of data A1 and the data A2 are replacement recorded, the portion of data A1 and the data A2 are once again replacement recorded in a spare area, and their position information is recorded as a DFL entry. At this point, the replacement recorded portion of data A1 and data A2 are identified as data recorded in the area in which data A0 is originally recorded. Accordingly, the position information of the data A0 area and the position information of the replacement recorded spare area are recorded as the position information of the DFL entry. Therefore, the two previously recorded LOW entry information become meaningless information and are, thus, deleted from the entry. The first PSN of the previous replacement recorded area is recorded in the flag bit within the cluster of the spare area in which the portion of data A1 and the data A2 are replacement recorded.

Furthermore, since the original data is replacement recorded as a means of defect management, bit 00 b is recorded as the status bit, which indicates the status of the cluster of the spare area in which the portion of data A1 and the data A2 are replacement recorded. Herein, bit 00 b indicates that the data is the original data regardless of whether the data includes the address of the previous recorded area.

FIG. 6D illustrates an example of a new data A3 being replacement recorded in an area which is identified to have data A2 recorded therein. Referring to FIG. 6D, when a recording (or writing) command for data A3 is transmitted, in accordance with the request from an application or host, to part of the data A0 area which is identified to have data A2 recorded therein, data A1 and data A3 are replacement recorded on a spare area, and their position information are recorded as the LOW entry. In case of the logical overwriting, the replacement recording of data may be performed on a next recordable area of the user data area or on a spare area. Therefore, FIG. 6D illustrates an example of performing logical overwriting on the spare area.

When the replacement recording of data of the logical overwriting is performed on the spare area, the first PSN of the previous recorded data is recorded in the flag bit of the cluster is which the portion of data A1 and the data A3 are replacement recorded. And, bit 00 b indicating that the data is the original data is recorded as the status bit of the frame in which the portion of data A1 is recorded. Further, since the status bit included the address of the previous recorded area and is updated, bit 01 b is recorded as the status bit of the frame in which data A3 is replacement recorded. As described above, by recording the address of the previous recorded area and the status of the replacement recorded data, the area in which the original data is recorded and its status information can be known even when the LOW entry or the DFL entry are unknown. This also means that the LOW entry and the DFL entry are not required to be separately defined. Moreover, the data can be managed more stably.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a method for recording a data frame status bit according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7A, when the status bit indicating the status of a data frame is 00 b, this indicates that the data is general data regardless of whether the data includes the address of the previous recorded data area. Status bit 01 b indicates that the data is real-time data, 10 b indicates that the data is padding data, and 11 b indicates that the data is invalid data. More specifically, the status bit of the data frame does not distinguish whether the data is the original data or updated data. Instead, the status bit only indicates whether the data is general data or real-time data. Therefore, among the bits including the address of the previous recorded data area, one of the bits is used to distinguish whether the data is the original data or the updated data. This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 7B.

Referring to FIG. 7B, among the above-described flag bits, more specifically, among the 32 bits including the address of the previous recorded area, one of the bits is allocated for distinguishing the original data from the updated data. When the bit is ‘0’, the corresponding cluster represents the original data, and when the bit is ‘1’, the corresponding cluster represents the updated data. At this point, since the bit allocated for distinguishing the original data from the updated data is one of bits having the address of the previous recorded area recorded therein, the bit indicates whether the data is the original data or the updated data by cluster units. This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method for recording data on the write-once optical disc according to the other embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8, when a command for recording (or writing) data A1 on the area, in which data A0 is recorded, is first transmitted, the data A1 is replacement recorded on a next recordable area, which is then recorded as a LOW entry. At this point, a first physical sector number (PSN) of the area, in which the data A0 is recorded, is recorded in the area having the address of the previous recorded area recorded therein. In addition, one bit is allocated and recorded in the area having the data A0 recorded therein, so as to indicate that the logically overwritten data A1 is an updated data.

Moreover, when a command for recording data A2, which is smaller than one cluster unit, on the area identified to have the data A1 recorded therein is transmitted, a portion of data A1 and the data A2 are replacement recorded on a next recordable area. The replacement recorded data is then recorded in the TDMA as a LOW entry, and the previously recorded LOW entry is deleted. At this point, the first PSN of the area having the data A1 recorded therein and 1 bit indicating that the recorded data is an updated data are recorded in the area having the address of the area preceding the replacement area recorded therein. Thereafter, if the area having the portion of data A1 and the data A2 recorded therein is detected as a defective area, the corresponding data are replacement recorded on a spare area and the corresponding location information is recorded in the TDMA as the DFL entry. At this point, 0 bit and the first PSN of the defective area are recorded in the bit including the address of the recorded area preceding the area, in which the portion of data A1 and the data A2 are replacement recorded. Herein, ‘0 bit’ indicates that the data is the original data.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 9, the optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus includes a recording/reproducing device 10 for performing recording/reproduction on the optical disc, and a host, or controller 20 for controlling the recording/reproducing device 10. In the optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus having the above-described structure, the host 20 gives a writing or reproduction order to write or reproduce to/from a particular area of the optical disc to the recording/reproducing device 10, and the recording/reproducing device 10 performs the recording/reproduction in response to the order from the host 20. The recording/reproducing device 10 includes an interface unit 12 for performing communication, such as exchange of data and order, with the host 20, a pickup unit 11 for writing/reading a data to/from the optical disc directly, a data processor 13 for receiving signal from the pickup unit 11, and recovering a desired signal value, or modulating a signal to be written into a signal able to be written on the optical disc, and forwarding, a servo unit 14 for controlling the pickup unit 11 to read a signal from the optical disc accurately, or write a signal on the optical disc accurately, a memory 15 for temporary storage of various kinds of information including management information, and data, and a microcomputer 16 for controlling various parts of the recording/reproducing device 10.

In the optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus, process steps of the method for recording data on the write-once optical disc will now be described. Upon inserting the write-once optical disc into the optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus, all management information is read from the optical disc and stored in the memory 15 of the recording/reproducing device 10, for use at the time of recording/reproduction of the optical disc. Herein, if the user desires to write on a particular area of the optical disc, the host 20, which considers such desire of the user as a writing command, provides information on a desired writing position to the recording/reproducing device 10, along with a set of data that is to be written.

After receiving the recording command, the microcomputer 16 included in the recording/reproducing device 10 is controlled to perform the recording of data on the optical disc in accordance with the recording command. When defect management or overwriting is required during the recording of data, the data that is intended to be recorded on the defective area or the overwriting area is replacement recorded on a next recordable area or on a spare area. Then, the corresponding position information is recorded in the TDMA as one of a LOW entry and a DFL entry.

The status of the data is recorded in frame units of the replacement area in a status bit within the flag bit of an address unit (AU) of the replacement area. And, a first PSN of the previous recorded area is recorded in the area having the address of the previous recorded area recorded therein. Depending upon the diverse embodiments of the present invention, one of the bits of the area having the address of the previous recorded area recorded therein is used for distinguishing whether the replacement recorded data is the original data or an updated data. In order to do so, the microcomputer 16 included in the recording/reproducing device 10 transmits the position information of the replacement area and the data to the servo 14 and the data processor 13. Thereafter, the microcomputer 16 allows the recording or replacement recording of the data to be completed at a desired position of the optical disc through the pickup unit 11.

The method for reproducing the above-described write-once optical disc will now be described. When the data recorded write-once optical disc is first inserted in the recording and/or reproducing apparatus, all management information recorded in the disc are read and stored in the memory 15 of the recording/reproducing device 10. These management information are then used later on when recording and/or reproducing data on/from the optical disc. Thereafter, when the user wishes to reproduce a specific area of the optical disc, the host 20 creates a reproducing (or reading) command based on the user's request and transmits the position information of the desired area to the recording/reproducing device 10. After receiving the reproducing command, the microcomputer 16 included in the recording/reproducing device 10 receives the reproducing command, the microcomputer 16 determines whether the area of the optical disc, which the host 20 wishes to reproduce, has been replacement recorded on another area within the data area. As described above, this can be verified by the LOW and DFL entries recorded in the TDMA. Furthermore, necessary information may be verified by using the status bit recorded in the flag bit within the address unit of the replacement area or the bit having the address of the previous recorded area. Therefore, when the area which the host 20 wishes to reproduce has not been replacement recorded, the microcomputer 16 reproduces the corresponding area and transmits the information of the reproduced area to the host 20. Alternatively, if the area has been replacement recorded on another area, the microcomputer 16 refers to the LOW or DFL entry information and the flag bit within the address unit, so as to reproduce the replacement recorded area and to transmit the corresponding information to the host 20.

As described above, the recording medium, and the method and apparatus of recording and reproducing data on the same have the following advantages. By verifying the status of the recorded data and the address of a previous recorded area, the data can be more stably and securely managed, and the efficiency for recording and/or reproducing on/from the recording medium can be enhanced.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 

1. A method of recording data on a recording medium, the method comprising: recording data within a plurality of data frames included in a cluster; recording status information within the cluster for each data frame, the status information indicating a status of the data recorded in each data frame; and recording previous location information within the cluster when the cluster is determined to be a replacement cluster, the previous location information indicating a previous location of an original cluster associated with the replacement clusters, wherein the cluster includes an address field, the address field includes address unit numbers, a plurality of flag bits representing the status and previous location information, and error-correction parities for each address unit number.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the status information indicates that the data recorded in each data frame represents any one of valid data, real-time data, padding data, and invalid data.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the status information indicates that the data recorded in each data frame represents any one of valid data, updated data, padding data, and invalid data.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the status information for each data frame is represented by two flag bits.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the previous location information indicates a first sector number of the original cluster.
 6. A method of recording data on a recording medium, the method comprising: recording data within a plurality of data frames included in a cluster; recording status information within the cluster for each data frame, the status information indicating a status of the data recorded in each data frame; recording first identification information within the cluster, the first identification information identifying the cluster as a replacement cluster or an original cluster; and recording previous location information within the cluster, the previous location information indicating a previous location of an original cluster associated with the cluster when the cluster is determined to be a replacement cluster, wherein the location information is set to zero when the cluster is determined to be an original cluster.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: recording second identification information within the cluster when the cluster is determined to be a replacement cluster, the second identification information identifying the cluster as a replacement cluster created upon defective area detection or logical overwrite (LOW).
 8. A method of recording data on a recording medium, the method comprising: recording data within a plurality of data frames included in a cluster; recording status information within the cluster for each data frame, the status information indicating a status of the data recorded in each data frame, wherein the status information indicates that the data recorded in each data frame represents any one of valid data, real-time data, padding data, and invalid data; and recording previous location information within the cluster, the previous location information indicating a previous location of an original cluster associated with the cluster when the cluster is determined to be a replacement cluster; wherein, if the status information for data within a data frame indicates the real-time data, the data within the data frame is discarded when being replaced in a replacement cluster.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: recording first identification information within the cluster, the first identification information identifying the cluster as a replacement cluster or an original cluster.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein, if the status information for data within a data frame indicates the valid data, the data within the data frame is conserved when being replaced in a replacement cluster.
 11. A method of reproducing a cluster recorded on a recording medium, the cluster having a plurality of data frames, the method comprising: extracting status information from the cluster, the status information indicating a status of data recorded in each data frame; and reproducing the data recorded in each data frame based upon the extracted status information, wherein the status information indicates that the data recorded in each data frame represents any one of valid data, real-time data, padding data, and invalid data, wherein, if the status information for data within a data frame indicates the padding data, the data within the data frame is discarded.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein, if the status information for data within a data frame indicates the valid or real-time data, an entire portion of the data within the data is reproduced.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: extracting previous location information from the cluster when the status information for data within a data frame indicates the invalid data, the previous location information indicating a previous location of an original cluster associated with the cluster; and reproducing data within the original cluster using the previous location information.
 14. An apparatus of recording data on a recording medium including a cluster having a plurality of data frames, the apparatus comprising: a pickup unit configured to record data in the data frames; and a microcomputer, operatively coupled to the pickup unit, configured to control the pickup unit to record status information within the cluster, the status information indicating a status of the data being recorded in each data frame, wherein the microcomputer further controls the pickup unit to record previous location information within the cluster when the cluster is determined to be a replacement cluster, the previous location information indicating a previous location of an original cluster associated within the replacement cluster, wherein the cluster includes an address field, the address field includes address unit numbers, a plurality of flag bits representing the status and previous location information, and error-correction parities for each address unit number.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the status information indicates that the data recorded in each data frame represents any one of valid data, real-time data, padding data, and invalid data.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the status information indicates that the data recorded in each data frame represents any one of valid data, updated data, padding data, and invalid data.
 17. An apparatus of reproducing a cluster recorded on a recording medium, the cluster having a plurality of data frames, the apparatus comprising: a pickup unit configured to reproduce data recorded in the data frames; and a microcomputer, operatively coupled to the pickup unit, configured to control the pickup unit to extract status information from the cluster and to reproduce data recorded in each data frame based upon the extracted status information, wherein the status information indicates that the data recorded in each data frame represents any one of valid data, real-time data, padding data, and invalid data and wherein, if the status information for data within a data frame indicates the padding data, the microcomputer discard data within the data frame.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein, if the status information for data within a data frame indicates the valid or real-time data, the microcomputer reproduces an entire portion of the data within the data.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, the microcomputer further controls the pickup unit to extract previous location information from the cluster when the status information for data within a data frame indicates the invalid data, the previous location information indicating a previous location of an original cluster associated with the cluster; and to reproduce data within the original cluster using the previous location information.
 20. A recording medium comprising: a plurality of clusters, each cluster comprising: a plurality of data frames; status information for each data frame, the status information indicating a status of the data recorded in each data frame; and previous location information when each cluster is determined to be a replacement cluster, the previous location information indicating a previous location of an original cluster associated with the replacement clusters, wherein the cluster further includes an address field, the address field includes address unit numbers, a plurality of flag bits representing the status and previous location information, and error-correction parities for each address unit number. 